Chris Leavy has spoken on behalf of powerhouses like BlackRock and been named "Top 100 Fund Manager" by Barron's. So what does an accomplished Wall Street asset manager see in the cannabis industry? In one word, opportunity.
"The investor DNA in me just couldn't ignore what is going on in the legal cannabis industry," Mr. Leavy said. "Despite the compelling business prospects, the scarcity of traditional capital sources is creating valuations for privately held assets that are some of the best I've ever seen."
Mr. Leavy is the new co-chairman and a partner at Los Angeles-based MedMen, a leading cannabis management and investment firm, where he will help oversee investment strategies for the firm's private equity funds. Mr. Leavy is only the latest in a string of professionals with long institutional resumes to join MedMen. Zeeshan Hyder, a former investment analyst with the Eli Broad Family Office and most recently a vice president at private equity firm First Beverage Ventures, has joined MedMen as its vice president of investments. And Moises Magana, a former executive at gambling platform Youbet.com and the award-winning content marketing platform Evolve Media, has joined MedMen as its chief financial officer.
"Our goal is to assemble the best talent from every relevant sector and take the cannabis industry to the next level," said Adam Bierman, MedMen's co-founder and chief executive. "We do not need more marijuana experts. What our industry needs is computer scientists, chemists, marketers, financial experts... We need professionals who are at the top of their fields."
MedMen has grown its workforce from about 15 people in early 2015 to more than 100 today. Mr. Leavy is the highest profile recruitment to date. He brings more than two decades of experience in asset management with senior roles at Morgan Stanley, OppenheimerFunds and BlackRock.
As a managing director of BlackRock, Mr. Leavy oversaw $115 billion of fundamental equities and was a member of the firm's Global Operating Committee. Prior to BlackRock, Mr. Leavy served as the chief investment officer of equities at Oppenheimer Funds. Earlier in his tenure at the firm, he built the value equity group from $6 billion to $16 billion of assets and was recognized by Barron's as a "Top100 Fund Manager."
Mr. Leavy is a trusted voice in the investment community of fund boards, consultants, gatekeepers and institutional investors. He has been quoted by top financial media outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, CNBC and Bloomberg News. Mr. Leavy is the founder of NetPost Capital Advisors and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
"We have an opportunity to shape an entire industry from the get go," Mr. Leavy said. "Capital, scale and execution are the keys to making that happen."